McGuane completes Barcelona move

Arsenal midfielder Marcus McGuane has joined Barcelona on a three-year deal. The 18-year-old has signed until 2021 with the Spanish club and will join immediately with the B team. He has a release clause of €25m.

McGuane has made just two appearances for the first-team, spending the majority of his time playing for the u18s, u19s and u23s – racking up around 60 appearances. With game time for the senior side being so sparse, the Englishman has sought out a move elsewhere to continue his development.

The news was first reported by Kike Marin on Monday, and things have progressed quickly. He underwent a medical earlier today, and has now been confirmed a Barcelona player with manager of football, Pep Segura, and technical secretary of football professional training, Jose Mari Bakero.

The Mirror suggested there was a tussle between Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and the Catalans, but the lure of Spain clearly proved too much. McGuane’s contract expires in 2021 and comes with an option to extend.

It’s a brave move by the young midfielder, who has represented England at u17, u18 and u19 level, and he’ll be hoping to progress to the first-team in due time.

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Crippy treats football gossip with a dash of cynicism and loves tearing apart outlandish rumours.